


Presto Chango

by Nadare



Series: Goretober 2019 [1]
Category: Magic (1978), Magic - William Goldman
Genre: Alternate Ending, Canon Divergence, Doppelganger, Dubious Morality, Dummy - Freeform, F/M, Goretober, Magic, One Shot, Second Chances, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-10-24 23:50:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20714603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadare/pseuds/Nadare
Summary: Blood trickled down his lips and though there wasn't much at the moment to smile about, Corky did it anyway. He'd had a good run, everything that had happened with Peggy a rather unexpected bonus.





	Presto Chango

_A/N: No fanfic for this? Not at all? Tsk. This won't do._

Prompts: Dummy, Doppelganger, and Magic.

[Written on and off from 9-20-19 to 10-1-19]

* * *

** _“Presto Chango”_ **

Corky's gut was a deep cold pain that consumed all his senses, the strength to move slowly abating with each breath he took. He'd stabbed himself to save Peggy and if that was his last act on Earth, Corky was fine with it.

Blood trickled down his lips and though there wasn't much at the moment to smile about, Corky did it anyway. He'd had a good run, everything that had happened with Peggy a rather unexpected bonus.

Fats' voice was growing quieter all the time, the hold on Corky's mind weakening. Despite everything that had happened between them, Corky couldn’t help but feel grateful that he wasn’t alone in his final moments.

His eyelids grew heavy, Corky’s limbs going limp.

It was here.

The end.

The breath trapped in his throat rattled once, Corky's chin falling against his chest, then there was absolutely nothing at all.

* * *

Corky jolted upright as a bright electrical spark coursed through his body, his eyes popping open in shock. He coughed roughly, the heavy taste of copper on his tongue. Corky put a hand to his stomach, the cold ache there growing warmer with every passing second.

Pulling up his sweater, Corky stared at the smooth unmarked skin of his midsection, the heavy smear of bright red there the only sign something had happened.

He dropped his shirt and automatically reached for Fats, Corky amazed at the amount of blood that had spread from the dummy. The solid wood that made up Fats' body was sliced deeply in the middle, enough to expose some of his inner workings.

“Fats?” Corky's voice was low, growing louder as he realized the space Fats used to occupy inside his head was empty, the usually forceful personality completely silent.

“Please. You can't leave me here alone.”

There was no answer.

Corky didn't fight the tears that filled his eyes, nor the crushing grief that rose inside him at the loss. He didn't know how Fats had done it, but he'd taken the full brunt of Corky's injuries, bleeding from damaged organs he didn't even have.

Magic.

It had to be. Real true magic.

Fats had saved him **yet** again.

When he felt he had nothing left to grieve for, his eyes aching, Corky stood up unsteadily. He went to the bathroom and stripped before taking a hot shower, the warm spray easing some of his tense muscles, Corky’s mind wandering.

He had a choice.

Corky could take the second chance at life and Peg or no Peg, leave as soon as he could. Before anyone discovered the bodies he'd left in Lake Melody. Though it wouldn’t last long, Corky had the money to flee overseas if he had to.

The idea of a future without Fats was sad, but Corky had proved he could do things without him. He'd been through the worst already. What was left to be scared of?

Once he'd finished cleaning himself up, Corky moved to the bedroom where he dressed with a sense of hollowness. It'd been years since he felt so free, unobserved and unjudged.

He'd already packed up his things earlier when he'd intended to leave Fats behind in his new life with Peggy. Stupidly announced to his partner, thinking Fats would be okay with it when nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Hey, Cork?” The sound of Peggy's voice outside the front door of the cabin made him jump. “I changed my mind.”

Hope and disbelief gripped him, Corky swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” A pause. “Can you open the door?” Peggy asked with a smile in her voice.

The grisly scene in the front room would be hard to explain, Corky preferring to avoid it if he could.

“Just give me a few moments, will ya?”

“Don't you think you've left me waiting long enough?”

“Sorry,” Corky said, trying to sound flustered as he moved down the hallway, putting his suitcase down by the front door. “I-I'm not decent.”

Peggy chuckled, seeming amused at his feigned shyness. “Oh, all right then.”

He gathered up his bloody clothes from the bathroom, shoving them into a garage bag. Corky's fast pace faltered as he came to stand over the last remains of his friend and partner.

“I can't thank you enough,” Corky whispered, kneeling down beside him. He leaned down and gently wove a sheet around Fats' body, then laid him inside the suitcase that contained the rest of the dummy’s clothes.

When he could manage it, Corky would either bury the suitcase or burn it, giving Fats a proper send-off. He laid a blanket over the blood stain on the floor before washing his hands thoroughly.

Done cleaning things up, Corky strode to the door, a suitcase in each hand. One held the remnants of his old life, and the other an entirely new start.

He could do this.

Peggy's happy expression as he pulled the door open strengthened his resolve to live whatever remained of the rest of his life to the fullest.

Corky owed it to Fats.

It was the least he could do.


End file.
